Posts Tagged “feature”
Canadian apple production is predicted to increase 5% in the 2024-25 marketing year, driven by a larger Quebec crop and average Ontario crop, according to a new USDA report.
The apple crop in British Columbia is expected to be average with apple trees having weathered a January 2024 cold event better than pears and grapes, the report said.
While the British Columbia crop will be average by volume, there are sizing and quality issues.
“Additionally, one of the packers and owners of controlled atmosphere in the province, the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative announced an immediate closure in July,” the report said, adding that the closure left many growers without a packer for the upcoming harvest and with a loss of access to controlled atmosphere storage.
“Some growers may look to secure storage access in Washington state, a smaller Washington crop may help support access to these storage facilities,” the report said. “As a result of limited controlled atmosphere storage options at present, it is likely that there will be a large volume of apples selling through the end of 2024 as growers lack the capacity to put them in longer-term storage. This would in turn create a greater need for imports to satisfy [British Columbia] retailer and consumer demand from January 2025 onwards. A higher volume on the market through end of 2024 will also continue to negatively impact pricing.”
The report said Canadian pear production for 2024-25 is forecast to be down 9% compared with the previous season because of cold impacts to the crop in British Columbia. A larger Ontario crop will only partially offset losses in British Columbia, the report said.
Canadian imports of apples and pears are forecast to be down slightly in marketing year 2024-25, driven by shifting consumer preferences and a reduction in U.S. production, according to the report.
The USDA said fresh apple imports are forecast to drop a little over 2% because of the increase in Canadian apple production and a decline in the U.S. apple crop.
“Canada is forecast to maintain recent year’s export pace with a larger crop supporting a forecast of 8% growth in exports,” the USDA said. A smaller U.S. apple crop will also provide additional export opportunity for Canadian apples, the report said.
Production of table grapes is forecast to decline 16% due to adverse weather events impacting Ontario and British Columbia. The USDA predicts Canada will increase its imports of grapes by 2% in 2024-25.
South Texas grapefruit and orange shipments have started withh expectations of a fresh crop for 2024-25 of 2.5 million cartons of grapefruit, 1 million cartons of early oranges and 500,000 cartons of late oranges.
Trade association Texas Citrus Mutual of Mission, TX sees of a similar volume compared to last year, with the condition of the fruit looking strong. Fruit quality has been great in the first few weeks of harvest.
In the 2023-24 season, USDA shipment figures indicate Texas fresh grapefruit shipments of 2.317 million 40-pound cartons and fresh orange shipments of 1.627 million 40-pound cartons.
The Texas citrus harvest should be finished by April.
Despite challenges including freezes, hurricanes and drought, assurances of water deliveries could encourage growers to plant more citrus in future years, the association reports.
Texas grapefruit harvested acreage in 2023 totaled 9,000, according to the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service. Yields of grapefruit were estimated at 250 boxes per acre, with an overall on-tree return of $20.93 per box. The value of both fresh and processed fruit was $50.5 million. Of utilized production of 90,000 tons, fresh accounted for 50,000 tons and processing uses accounted for 40,000 tons.
Texas orange harvested acreage in 2023 totaled 6,100, generating 48,000 tons of utilized production. Fresh market orange utilization was 35,000 tons, compared with just 12,000 tons for processing. The overall value of the Texas orange crop in 2023 was $14.8 million, with yields of 185 boxes per acre. The on-tree equivalent for orange prices was $11.30 per box, according to the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service.
The Pomegranate Council, founded in 1997 to promote the California pomegranate industry, said the state’s pomegranate season is officially underway. Harvested October through January, the council said the season is short but aligns perfectly with the holidays and pomegranates offer a pop of color, flavor and nutrition in holiday recipes.
Pomegranate Council partnered with Tara “Teaspoon” Bench, a former food editor of Martha Stewart Living, to offer tips to incorporate pomegranates at the holidays, according to a news release.
Pomegranate pieces, arils and a homemade compote are can be added to cheese boards this holiday season.
“From a gorgeous cheese platter to a holiday ham, the pomegranate’s bright, juicy, red arils elevate any dish,” Bench said. “Not to mention, they make a fabulous centerpiece.”
Pomegranate arils or juice made from the arils also make for a show-stopping ingredient in cocktails, salads, dips, sides, entrees, desserts and more, the release said. Adding sweetness, juiciness and crunch, the pomegranate possibilities are many, Bench said.
“Pomegranates are the quintessential food gift,” she said. “Deliver whole pomegranates to neighbors or make my Pomegranate Crunchy Clusters, a delicious mix of chocolate, coconut, granola and pomegranates.”
The Pomegranate Council also said pomegranates boast vitamin C to polyphenols and potassium for added health benefits.
The latest Mango Crop Report by the National Mango Board shows there’s going to be an increase in overall mango volume shipped to the United States in December, an increase mostly attributed to an uptick in Peruvian and Ecuadorian fruit.
The 2024 Peruvian season is expected to be about 248% higher than 2023, with a projection of approximately 20.7 million boxes. Volume shipped from Peru was approximately 843,470 boxes for a total of 1,867,105 boxes for the season, an increase of over 700,000 boxes compared to 2023, during the same week.
The Kent variety makes up a little over 93% of shipments, followed by Ataulfo (5%), Keitt (0.8%), and other varieties (0.5%)
Ecuador’s mango season began the first week of September and will run until the last week of December. Currently, the country is in the process of harvesting and/or packing, and volumes shipped on the week ending 11/23/2024 were approximately 1,078,651 boxes for a total of 12,074,802 boxes for the season. This is an astounding increase compared to the 416,548 boxes during the same week last year.
Ecuador’s most traded varieties are Tommy Atkins, making up a little over 43%, followed closely by Kent, which makes up 39.7% of the overall volume shipped, followed by Keitt (12%) and Ataulfo (5%). Other varieties make up only 0.1%.
Brazilian mango season, on the other hand, is expected to be about 32% lower YOY, although volume shipped during the period is higher compared to last year, same date, the overall total of boxes for the season is projected to be around 8,167,073, nearly a 3 million decrease from last year. The Brazilian mango season began in the first week of August and will run until the last week of December.
The total mango volume shipped during the last week of November was approximately 2,424,189 boxes, with two main mango varieties being shipped to the United States, Kent (59%) and Tommy Atkins (24%).
Peak volume tomato shipments from Florida are on their way.
In 2023, Florida shipped fresh open-field tomatoes from October through July, with peak shipments from October through May. Leading tomato-producing counties in Florida include Hillsborough County, Manatee County, Hendry County, Palm Beach County and Collier County.
Florida tomato acreage in 2023 totaled about 30,000 acres, of which about 29,00 acres were harvested, according to USDA numbers.
With yields of 300 hundredweight per acre, the value of the 2023 Florida tomato crop was estimated at $493.6 million, according to the USDA. Total tomato harvested volume was 8.97 million hundredweight.
The USDA’s annual shipment summary reported that Florida accounted for 23.44 million 25-pound cartons of open-field fresh round tomato truck shipments in 2023. That accounted for about 56% of total domestic fresh round tomato truck shipments.
The USDA reported that only 8,000 25-pound cartons of Florida organic round tomatoes were shipped in 2023.
Florida cherry tomato shipments in 2023 totaled 344,000 25-pound cartons, just over 70% of USDA-reported cherry tomato shipments.
Florida grape tomato shipments in 2023 were reported at 2.148 million 25-pound cartons, or about 71% of total domestic grape tomato shipments.
Florida plum tomato shipments in 2023 were reported at 8.17 million 25-pound cartons by the USDA, or 61% of total domestic plum tomato volume.
For central and south Florida, the USDA reported that average prices for 5×6-size mature green tomatoes in 25-pound cartons began in early November and continued through mid-May. Prices for the 2023-24 season began in early November in a range from $14.95 to $18.95 per carton. Prices topped $30 per carton in late December and topped $37 per carton in late January and early February.
A strong comeback is being experienced for California table grapes after facing challenges during the 2023-24 season. USDA data reveals the state had shipped 71 million boxes by early November, 12 million more than during the same period last season.
All table grape shipments are coming from the San Joaquin Valley, which typically operates between June and January. On Nov. 8 alone, the state shipped a little over 705,000 boxes of table grapes.
With harvest ongoing, the industry expects to harvest a crop of over 90 million boxes and to continue shipping through December.
According to USDA data, last season ended with 69.7 million boxes shipped from California, a season heavily impacted by Tropical Storm Hilary in August.
Over the last four years, California has shipped fewer boxes by this point in the season, with the highest volume during that period in 2022 at 70.6 million boxes.
Ample onion supplies with good quality are expected by growers and shippers for the holidays and beyond.
The Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee of Parma, ID reports harvest of yellow, red and white onions has been completed for the 2024-25 season.
The means a consistent supply and quality in all sizes and colors are available for shipping.
Peri & Sons Farms Inc. of Yerington, NV completed its onion harvest in late October and is pleased with onion quality and sizing.
The grower/packer/shipper offers red, yellow and white onions along with a sweet, proprietary variety called Sweetie and a tearless sweet onion with low acid content called Sweetie Tearless. The company also ships cipollinis, shallots and some garlic.
Wada Farms Marketing Group, Idaho Falls, Idaho, finished harvesting its red, yellow and white onions in mid-October, and expects a good crop without any supply issues.
Wada Farms ships its storage crop from July to April or May then sources from other areas, such as California, Arizona and New Mexico during the summer.
Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls, ID reports plenty of good-quality onions and yields this year.
About 80% of the company’s onions are sold in 25- and 50-pound bags and boxes. The rest are loaded in consumer packs.
Wilcox Fresh of Rexburg, ID focuses on Spanish sweet onions grown mainly in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
The company’s main program runs from August to April with summer onions sourced from Southern California and New Mexico.
The initial apples remaining in storage report of the 2024-25 season shows fresh apple holdings are down 7% over November 2023, but still 8% more than the five-year average for the month of November, according to The U.S. Apple Association of Falls Church, VA.
USApple reports this includes over 95% of the country’s national storage capacity.
The report shows processing apples in storage are also down — about 9% — over last year, but equal to the November five-year average.
Washington leads the states with 31,187,651 bushels of apples in regular storage and 110,287,587 in controlled atmosphere storage. New York came in second with 4,969,991 bushels in regular storage and 8,764,168 bushels in controlled atmosphere. Michigan was third with 2,615,000 bushels of apples in regular storage and 8,637,000 bushels in controlled atmosphere storage. Pennsylvania was fourth with 1,711,783 bushels of apples in regular storage and 2,967,826 bushels in controlled atmosphere, and Virginia rounded out the top five with 683,091 bushels in regular storage and 1,040,853 bushels in controlled atmosphere.
While Washington’s holdings as of November are slightly lower than holdings in November 2023, it’s still slightly above the five-year average. The same is true for Michigan and New York. Pennsylvania’s holdings are down from 2023 and below the five-year average. Virginia’s holdings are down this year, but similar to the five-year average for the state.
As of this report, Cosmic Crisp led the varieties in regular storage with 5,182,685 bushels, Pink Lady/cripps pink was second spot with 4,698,124 bushels in regular storage, fuji was third with 4,176,483 bushels, Honeycrisp was fourth at 4,069,109 bushels in regular storage and granny smith was fifth with 3,981,225 bushels in regular storage.
For apples in controlled atmosphere storage, gala outpaces all other varieties with 26,107,068 bushels, followed by red delicious at 20,056,203 bushels, Honeycrisp with 16,910,664 bushels, granny smith with 16,486,909 bushels and fuji with 12,337,186 bushels.
Researchers at the University of Lleida (UdL) have discovered that red-fleshed apples improve endothelial function, which regulates blood flow, reduces inflammation, and modulates the immune system in people with high cholesterol.
Laura Rubió, one of the project’s lead researchers, highlighted that the benefits of red-fleshed apples are “superior” due to the significant improvement in inflammation markers. This variety is not grown in Spain, and now researchers are looking for ways to process and commercialize it so consumers can benefit.
The ‘AppleCOR’ project emerged from a collaboration with IRTA, which was testing a red-fleshed apple grown and sold in northern European countries but not in Spain.
This is because red-fleshed apples contain “anthocyanic phenolic” compounds, which are also found in fruits like blueberries and black grapes. These compounds had never been studied at such levels in apples before, and since they are known to have health benefits, the researchers decided to investigate if the same effects occurred in this apple variety.